


Stilinski Absolutes

by LadyDrace



Series: Junk Ficlets from Tumblr [129]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Derek Gets Therapy, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, POV Derek Hale, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 07:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12452940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDrace/pseuds/LadyDrace
Summary: Stiles needs a date for a wedding, and Derek is the only single person he knows. Apparently.





	Stilinski Absolutes

**Author's Note:**

> Originally [posted on Tumblr](http://ladydrace.tumblr.com/post/153532882566/interspecieslesbianism-replied-also-if-youre) for Skye's prompt: “will you please be my fake date to my sibling’s/cousin’s/coworker’s/ex’s wedding? I’ll pay you in alcohol and free cake.”
> 
> Unbetaed.

”Remember how I saved your life all those times?” is what Stiles says the minute Derek picks up the phone, and he sighs wearily. This is gonna be awful, he can feel it.

 

”It was like twice, but sure.”

 

”We’re gonna argue more about that later, but for now, can you just remember that you totally owe me, and do me a huge-ass favor?”

 

”You’re right, we  _will_  argue about that later, because you owe me just as much, if not more,” Derek grumbles, but if Stiles is bringing up the life-savings they usually never talk about, then whatever he wants must be pretty serious.

 

”If you laugh, I will murder you.”

 

Or maybe not so serious.

 

”No promises,” Derek says, going back to stirring his soup since it’s obviously not an emergency.

 

”Well. My cousin is getting married,” Stiles says with a level of despair like someone who just found out they have a very short time to live.

 

”Good for them?” Derek says, but then has to rewind. ”Wait, I didn’t know you even  _had_  cousins.”

 

Stiles groans. ”Well, I do. We just don’t speak. Or, we  _didn’t_. My grandma went off the rails when my mom married my dad instead of the sweet-ass dude she’d lined up for her or whatever, and then she kinda disowned us, and I guess the rest of the gang was just too terrified of her to argue or something. Can’t blame ‘em, from what little my dad told me, she was scary as all fuck. But okay, so, she kicked the bucket a couple of years ago, and I guess my cousin is on some kind of mission now to bring the clan back together or something, because she invited me to her wedding, and, uh… well, I think she takes after grandma.”

 

”Okay?”

 

”She basically told me that if I’m not bringing a significant other, then she will consider it her sworn duty to find me someone, preferably someone distantly related to me, which, ew.”

 

Derek hums into the phone and lets his soup simmer a little longer. ”Well, muddy incest waters aside, isn’t this a good thing? You’re always complaining about your single state anyway.”

 

”Yeah, but… I don’t work that way. Remember how I told you about my dating failures in college? Well, it’s… I figured out why they never worked, and- I cannot believe I’m having this conversation with you of all people,” Stiles mutters, and frankly that stings. Derek is well aware of his abysmal dating history, but he didn’t think that would make him a bad listener, or somehow prevent him from showing understanding for whatever it is Stiles is struggling to explain.

 

”Well, try anyway,” Derek grits out, and barely manages to not just hang up and slam the phone down.

 

”Dude, no, I didn’t mean-  _fuck_.” There’s rustling, and Derek can picture him easily, rubbing his face with frustration the exact same way his father does. ”Look, you remember how hung up I was on Lydia, right? Like, that went on for most of my goddamn  _life_. And I figured if I could just get over her then I could move on and date and try some stuff, right? But no. No, it turns out Stilinski men only deal in absolutes, like goddamn sith, because I only got over her when I replaced her with someone else. So I’m at square one.”

 

”Okay. So what do you need me for?” Derek asks, feeling a little bummed that Stiles is still stuck in the same rut of running after people who will never be good enough for him, but then the penny drops. ”Oh,  _don’t_  tell me…”

 

”Please? I’m begging you, Derek! I know, I know, fuck my limited social circle, but you’re the only single person I know! Unless I hire someone from Craigslist – and believe me, I gave that more thought than is probably sane – you’re it, Derek.” He sounds weirdly defeated by the end, and Derek hates himself a little bit because he can already feel he’s gonna do it.

 

”I hate you,” is what he says instead, and Stiles laughs.

 

”Yeah, buddy, I know. But there’s gonna be cake! And booze, probably, so at the very least you get to watch me make a fool out of myself.”

 

”Like every other day of the week,” Derek grumbles.

 

”Ha ha, wolf’s got jokes. Wear a suit.”

 

”Fine.”

 

The wedding is a pretty classy affair. Or it would be if so many people weren’t incredibly drunk. Not only is there booze, there’s a free bar. An  _extremely well stocked_  free bar. Even Derek manages to find something in it that gives him a buzz for roughly five minutes. Stiles’ lip goes numb when he sips it, and it’s the most entertaining part of Derek’s night so far.

 

He can’t blame Stiles for doing this whole fake date thing, though, because the cousin is  _scary_. If she takes after her late grandmother, Derek suddenly isn’t so surprised a whole family would just do whatever she wanted.  

 

But at least she’d seemed to take Stiles’ claims that Derek is his boyfriend at face value, and has more or less left them to themselves, so it’s been a relatively pain free night. Only problem is that weddings always make Derek a little glum. He can’t help but end up in the same endless cycles of sadness and guilt and regret over how disastrous his own love life has always been, and how dearly he wishes it were different. He’s come to terms with the fact that he’s unhappy being single, but that it’s probably healthier for him in the long run. Weddings make it really hard to remember that, however. When Erica and Boyd finally tied the knot last year, Derek got so drunk on wolfsbane wine that he only remembers glimpses after the ceremony. And they’re not pretty glimpses. Erica got way too many details about Derek’s feelings, most of them about Stiles, and there are just too many good reasons Derek keeps them packed down so tightly by default.

 

But now a lot of them are sneaking to the forefront of his mind, and he finds himself dwelling on the sad parallels of both of them harboring feelings towards someone they’ll never have. Unless of course whoever Stiles is in love with now somehow becomes single again.

 

”Tomorrow I’ll definitely deny saying this,” Derek sighs, nudging Stiles with a gentle elbow, as they watch the newlyweds swirl around on the dance floor, ”but I hope you have a chance to do that sometime.”

 

”What, get married?” Stiles snorts. ”Right, fat chance of that.”

 

”Who knows, maybe whoever it is you want will give you a chance if they end up single again,” Derek says, a little less dedicated to his gruff, insensitive exterior than usual. Maybe the booze lasted more than five minutes after all.

 

Stiles drains his fruity drink and sets down the glass with a sigh. ”I’d find that encouraging, probably, if the object of my affections hasn’t been single pretty much the entire time I’ve known them,” he says sadly, and mutters something about the bathroom before weaving away through the crowd.

 

Derek watches the dancefloor, but something niggles at him, and it takes him a minute to figure out what it is. Whoever Stiles is in love with is single. And he said it himself:  _Derek is the only single person he knows_.

 

Theoretically, of course, Stiles’ current person of interest could be someone Derek doesn’t know, but it’s extremely unlikely. Stiles doesn’t just crush on someone, he obsesses and has a complete inability to keep his distance. He pushes and insinuates himself and basically forces his presence on people, no matter the level of rejection, and it would probably take an actual restraining order to keep him out of someone’s life. And even that it might not be a guarantee. It’s the kind of thing most people find disturbing and stalker-ish, but that Derek can’t help but admire a little bit, because Stiles does it in pretty much every aspect of his life. If he wants something, he goes for it, at full speed. Derek wishes he could be that determined about anything ever.

 

Add to that the fact that Derek can’t remember the last time he went through a full day without Stiles texting, calling or showing up at the loft… yeah, the evidence seems pretty solid. Even though there has never been any actual propositioning, Stiles has never made it any kind of secret how much he admires Derek, albeit in a snarky sort of way.

 

The irony of it all is  _epic_.

 

Derek stays at the bar for several minutes, just frozen in vague panic, because  _how the fuck didn’t he realize?_

 

Some choice phrases from his therapist drift through his mind, and he decides to apologize to her at his next appointment, because her suggestion that he might be sabotaging himself in some ways because of his guilt had felt ludicrous, and he’d told her so in quite colorful language.

 

Stiles doesn’t return, though, and eventually Derek snaps out of it enough to start worrying a little bit. He makes his way towards the restrooms, keeping his senses on alert, and catches Stiles’ voice faintly echoing across tiled walls before he’s even at the door. ” _You are a fucking moron._ ”

 

There’s a frustrated sounding groan, and Derek is half ready for combat when he sees Stiles shove open the bathroom door with some annoyance, and make a beeline for the exit leading to the gardens, without even noticing Derek coming towards him. A peek through the swung open door reveals a completely empty bathroom, and Derek takes a deep breath to calm himself. No danger. No need to get worked up. Except for how Derek has all the reason in the world to get worked up, because Stiles evidently  _loves_ him. The reminder has him reaching for a pillar to support him for a second, but then he thinks back to what Stiles was saying. He was obviously talking to himself, and he’s  _upset_. And Derek can  _fix it_. Just like that.  _Finally_ , something in his life he can actually fix.

 

He rushes through the exit, and spots Stiles by a small pond, staring at the water, rubbing his face and looking pained. Derek wastes no time getting to him. ”It’s me, isn’t it?” he asks with no preamble, and Stiles jumps.

 

” _Jesus_ , Derek! We’ve been _through_  this, make some goddamn noise,  _Christ_ …”

 

”It’s me, though, right?” he asks again, not about to be derailed. He can fix this.  _They_  can fix this.  

 

Stiles narrows his eyes. ”It’s you… what?”

 

”I replaced Lydia, didn’t I?”

 

All the color drains rapidly from Stiles’ face, and he looks abruptly ill. ”Derek… whu- how- I mean. No, uh, that’s-”

 

”Lie,” Derek cuts him off. ”It  _is_  me.”

 

It takes a long moment of suspended tension in the air before Stiles deflates a little, shoulders sagging. ”Yeah. I’m so sorry.”

 

The budding smile on Derek’s face dies. ”What? Why?”

 

”Uhh… because it’s super awkward and possibly triggering for you?”

 

Derek kinda gets where Stiles is coming from, and sends another thought of gratitude towards his therapist for granting him enough insight into his trauma for him to even get the gist. Of course Stiles would know endlessly more than Derek about these things, and had there been no feelings to return, Stiles’ apology would have made sense.

 

But, as it is…

 

”Stiles… there’s nothing to apologize for.”

 

”Well, yeah,  _logically_  I know that, I can’t help how I feel. But like, I tried, you know, I tried to keep my distance, but we all know how good I am at  _that_ ,” Stiles rambles, but falls quiet when Derek reaches out and threads their fingers together. Stiles stares down at their hands and then up to Derek’s face. ”What?” he whispers, eyes wide.

 

”There is literally nothing to apologize for,” Derek says again, and he can’t help but smile now. Something amazing is happening, and the prospect of making Stiles happy – and thereby also himself – makes bubbles of delight bounce in his gut. He’d completely forgotten what that even feels like. ”Your…  _affection_ … is not unrequited. Definitely not.” He squeezes Stiles’ hand, and watches his face as a myriad of emotions rush across it.

 

”Are you drunk?” Stiles asks eventually, and Derek almost laughs, because of  _course_  Stiles will never take anything at face value. Derek is in love with a paranoid bastard.

 

”No, and I can prove it,” Derek says, already digging his phone out of his pocket. He scrolls through his messages from the day before, when Erica had ribbed him mercilessly about going to a wedding as Stiles’ plus one.  _Her_  memory of his drunken ramblings at her wedding seems to be perfect, and Erica is not the type to hold back on her opinions. She’d made it very clear in her texts what she thought Derek should do with all his feelings in a romantic wedding setting with booze and dance music.

 

Derek hands Stiles the phone and watches him scroll through the conversation with a frown. Their hands are still joined, and Derek gives Stiles’ fingers a tiny squeeze. ”Believe me now?” he asks softly, and Stiles looks up from the phone with an awestruck look on his face.

  
”Since when?”

 

”A few years, I think.” It’s his best guess. Once he’d become aware of it he’d hurriedly shoved it down, because he wasn’t there yet. But he is now. Hell, he’d been there already  _last_  year.

 

The phone drops to the grass with a dull thump from Stiles’ lax fingers, and he swallows forcefully. ”Uhm. Okay. Wow.” He seems a little lost, eyes darting around Derek’s face, and there’s a swoop in Derek’s stomach when he realizes that Stiles is still holding back, afraid he might hurt Derek by taking what he’s being given. If Derek had had any doubts about this being a good thing they would have evaporated now. Stiles just cares about him  _so much_.

 

So Derek makes the choice for him, reaching up with his other hand to cradle Stiles’ face, and guide it in for a slow and sweet kiss. Stiles makes a tiny shocked noise before he kisses back, cautiously, obviously still concerned for Derek’s comfort. The level of consideration does weird things to Derek, and he suddenly has a hard time suppressing the urge to just drag Stiles down onto the grass and completely ruin their suits. Instead he moves his hand from Stiles’ cheek to his waist, curling around it to pull him in close, and finally it seems like Stiles gets the idea. His free arm flings around Derek’s neck, keeping him in place, and the kiss turns wet and hot in the blink of an eye.

 

The bliss is interrupted far too soon, though, by some relative or other poking his head out the door. ”Hey, guys, quit making out for a sec’, it’s time for the happy couple to try and sneak out!”

 

Their lips part with a wet sound that makes heat coil low and tight inside, and Derek sighs. ”To be continued?” he asks, and Stiles licks his red lips.

 

”Man, you don’t even know.”

 

The door closes behind them as the cousin or whatever obviously got sick of waiting and went back inside, and Stiles gives Derek a long look. ”Promise me you won’t regret this later?”

 

”Oh, I can definitely promise that,” Derek says firmly, taking Stiles’ hand again, not about to let him get away, or let his doubts get the better of him. ”As soon as this sneaking thing is over, we’re going home to finish this, I don’t care if it’s rude.”

 

”It’s totally rude,” Stiles says with a grin, trotting after him through the grass after having the precense of mind to pick up his phone. ”But I seem to have a thing for rude people.”

 

”Lucky me.” Derek returns the grin with enthusiasm, and drags Stiles inside. Later he drags him home, and then into bed, into a relationship, and into Derek’s life in general, in a way that isn’t actually so different from how it was before.

 

End.


End file.
